Wolves in the crosshairs

[USAF Medic]

Maybe he did it because wolves killed his Brittany:
WI: Wolves Kill 29 Pets, Hunting Dog Death Toll Rises

If wolves are a problem, then have a hunting season on them. Randomly throwing poisoned food out car windows is evil. I would put a hurt on anyone I knew was doing it...

 

[USAF Medic]

So because a hunting dog might eat a poisoned hot dog, that warrants shooting another human being?

Wow dude, I think you might have issues.
But that's just me I guess.

You have seen some people shouting "black lives matter" and others shouting "
all lives matter"
Well, when it comes to push or shove, "Some lives don't matter at all"

 

[ThePhonMan]

Wolves, like all apex predators, are predisposed to expend the least amount of energy to achieve that greatest result. If hunting slow and stupid cows and sheep (domesticated livestock that have no natural predators) is easier than chasing down a bull elk, moose or deer they will quickly shift tactics to the easier hunt. This is not unique to wolves.

Dogs are typically seen as competitors and, in the wild, would be a threat that required elimination by the pack. The fact that fido is typically fenced in makes it easier to dispatch them and eliminate the perceived potential competition.

Reintroduction of wolves using "simple science" is a noble gesture but a bit misguided. Native wolves were eliminated in the area decades ago and the ecosystem adapted to the lack of yet another apex predator. Reintroduction causes an impact on the current ecosystem (this isn't the 1880s through 1940s anymore).

Historically, wolves were found in most of the lower 48. I don't see anybody clamoring to reintroduce wolves to Cincinnati, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, etc. But maybe I just missed that press release.

Wolves in the west have been migrating north and south of the Canadian border naturally for centuries. Forced reintroduction is a disruptive process that creates its own problems.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

according to the ODFW the wolves here are Grey Wolves and typically weigh between 90 and 110 pounds. That weight matches your description of the Timber Wolf.

There appears to be some ambiguity about wolf species that makes it confusing.... Wikipedia shows Grey Wolves as being Timber Wolves, again weighing between 90 and 110 lbs. But then there is another North American species called the Northwestern Wolf, or Northwestern Timberwolf that is described at well over 100 to 200 lbs. Although there is much overlap in the traditional and modern ranges of both species it looks like the Northwestern Wolfs primary range is Canada... Wikipedia doesn't say but it would seem logical to call this one a "Canadian Grey Wolf"... is this what they are introducing here in Oregon (and Wa.)?


References:
ODFW About Gray Wolves
Northwestern wolf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gray wolf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What they are introducing is the 200 pound variety.

 

[bbbass]

The wolves I have seen here are huge! Not 100lbs, more like 250lbs. Can't be the same as the original species that inhabited Oregon.

Yes, the elk and deer populations were declining previous to the re-introduction. Yes, poaching was happening here even then. But the ban of using dogs to hunt cougar had a very quick and substantial effect. We saw the populations drop even more. And as I have said, with the wolf here now we only see deer around town and only elk herds around Meacham. Perhaps the fenced in Starkey Experimental has more herds. But I am going to Sled Springs this fall so I will see how the more northern units, where they've had a bunch of cattle and sheep predation, are faring. Re-introduction of apex predators IMO has not been beneficial to elk and deer. Egghead scientist can make up all the phony statistics and numbers they want... but it's junk science that is agenda driven. Next we'll be reading studies that says it is Climate Change that is causing game animal populations to decrease.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

for what its worth, Ive been big game hunting in Oregon for over 30 years and the decline in deer and elk started long befor the first wolf wandered over from Idaho in 99, then the second in 2009 that stayed and established wolves we have today. Even with our current wolf population there are not enough to have an overall impact on ungulate populations...
whatever has led to any decline in ungulates in Oregon wolves are not part of it.

The drop in deer populations in Oregon of 25% started in 1996, two years after the banning of hounds for hunting cougar and bear. Since then the cougar population has doubled. There's your problem.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

^^^^^this^^^^^

 

[Oregonhunter5]

My friends were getting into camp in a he dark. They were cranking up there tent trailer, when they heard dog noises. They got very nervous, and rushed the setup, and within 5 seconds of jumping in that tent trailer, a pack of wolves surrounded the trailer and they watched them sniff the trailer out nose to trailer for several minutes. They finally left. They were scared so bad that they packed up and left.

That was 1 hour from Boise.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

This is why us hound hunters hate wolves. So you care about your hunting dog? Don't ever put them in the field when wolves are within a few miles of where you are hunting.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I have a buddy who hunts coyotes with his lab. Tells him to sit, and he walks about 100 yards away. Turns on a dog Yelp, and they come running. Dogs hate competition. Especially wolves.

 

[bbbass]

MEACHAM - The East Oregonian reported that a 450-pound calf was killed by wolves on private land near Meacham Creek, according to the ODFW. The animal was found injured and lying partially in a pond on a forested cattle pasture Aug. 20. It had numerous bite marks on its backside consistent with a canine, and wolf tracks were seen around the edge of the pond. The calf died minutes later.

The attack happened within the Meacham Pack's territory in the southern portion of the Mount Emily Unit. The pack had at least five wolves as of the end of 2015. This is the first confirmed wolf depredation in Umatilla County since May 20.

 

[Dave Workman]

She was feeding it.
Read the story

No, I believe she was jogging near the village where she was a teacher of special ed kids. The only "feeding" she did was being eaten by the wolves, IIRC. I wrote about that a couple of times.